"Seriously, would you mind if I tried to find them?"

Her mom let go of a deep breath. "I don't mind, Kylie. I guess I'm just worried they will be very angry at me if you did. There have been so many times that I felt guilty for not letting them know about you." There was something in her mom's voice that drew Kylie's attention.

She suddenly realized if her mom felt guilty about not telling them, then she had to know where they were.

"Do you know where they are, Mom? Do you know how I could find them?"

Chapter Twenty-four

Her mom looked down. "I..."

"Please, Mom," Kylie said. "Please. If you know anything, tell me."

Her mom seemed preoccupied with her soda as if fascinated by the condensation running down the can. "I couldn't bring myself to throw away his obituary," she said finally. "I put it in the back of the frame of your baby picture hanging on the wall. It has their names and the town they lived in."

Hope flared anew in Kylie's chest. "When you get home, can you scan and e-mail it to me? Please."

Her mom nodded. "If they are still alive, they are going to hate me."

"I don't think so, Mom. They'll probably just be happy to meet me now."

Her mom touched Kylie's cheek. "I'm sorry, baby. I did what I thought was best at the time, but now ... it looks as if I didn't make the best decisions."

"You did fine," Kylie said. And without thinking, she gave her nonhugging mom another hug.

An hour later, Kylie watched her mom's car move down the road until it was a tiny blue dot that finally faded from view. Both Burnett and Holiday were waiting on her at the gated entrance when she returned.

"I think my mom is going to be fine," she told them, assuming that's why they were there.

Then she realized Burnett had probably been listening to their conversation the whole time. That's when she got a feeling they weren't here just about her mom.

"Am I in trouble for fighting with Selynn?" she asked. The thought had crossed her mind during her conversation with her mom. Like it or not, Selynn was FRU.

Holiday shook her head. "No. Selynn deserved what she got. She handled the situation all wrong. Terribly wrong."

Holiday glanced up at Burnett as if she was saying this to him as much as to Kylie. "If anyone says one thing about what went down out at the swimming hole, I'll be the first to tell them how the cow ate the cabbage."

When Kylie was about to ask Holiday what she meant about the cows and the cabbage, Burnett shrugged. "I don't think anyone will be saying anything," he said, humor dancing in his eyes. "I never have understood that saying. How does a cow eating cabbage translate into giving someone hell for something?"

"I have no idea." Holiday looked back at Kylie. Burnett's gaze followed Holiday's, and they both returned to that weird kind of staring. And Kylie went back to wondering what the heck was going on.

"If it's not Selynn, then what is it?" Kylie asked.

Burnett stuck his hands into his jeans pockets. "I think we just wanted to make sure you're okay."

She started to answer him, but realized they both were staring at her again. "If that's all, why are you two gawking at me as if I'm about to grow a tail?"

"Do you think you might grow a tail?" Concern filled his voice. Oh, shit! He was serious.

Kylie swiped her hand over her butt to make sure nothing had suddenly appeared. When nothing was there, she frowned at them. "What is it that you're not telling me?"

"You showcased some new talents today," Burnett said.

"You mean running fast?" Kylie asked.

"And taking on Selynn," Holiday said. "A were this close to a full moon is ... pretty hard to take on."

"So you're back to thinking I'm a werewolf now?"

Holiday glanced at Burnett and then they both looked back at Kylie.

"We're still not sure." He started studying Kylie anew.

"What is it?" she demanded.

"It's your brain pattern," Holiday said, her tone making it sound like a confession.

"What about it?" She touched her forehead. "Have I opened up? Can you tell what I am?"

"No," Holiday said. "It's just ... your pattern is shifting."

"Shifting? You mean, it's changing?"

Burnett and Holiday both nodded.

"What does that mean?" Kylie asked.

Holiday's expression went from curiosity to sympathy in a flash. "It's just..."

"Surmising, I know. Just tell me." She motioned with her hands for the camp leader to hurry up.

"The only brain pattern that shifts and changes is a shape-shifter," Holiday said.

"So, you now think I'm a shape-shifter?" Kylie tried to wrap her head around being a shape-shifter. Turning into giant lions and ...

"It's not changing like a shape-shifter," Burnett corrected. "A shapeshifter only changes when they change forms."

Kylie looked down at her chest and lower, almost to make sure she hadn't morphed into anything, and to make sure her boobs hadn't taken on another cup size. Then she gave her butt another swipe, praying again that she hadn't grown a tail. "I'm not changing."

"We know," Burnett said.

Then, as if sensing Kylie had about had her quota of crap for the day, Holiday came over and dropped an arm around her. "Come on, why don't we take a walk to the falls?"